Writing for an Audience Beyond the Teacher: 10 Reasons to Send Student Work Out Into the World

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An image by Zilu (Lulu) Zhu, 18, created in response to a Learning Network call for illustrations on the concept of “student voice.” This and five others appeared in print in The New York Times in June 2018.

So whether you’ve been posting your students’ work in physical spaces around school or the community, sending out examples on social media, coaching students for live competitions or contests, encouraging them to submit to newspapers and journals , or getting them in front of audiences at community theaters, bookstores, libraries, radio stations, school boards or political offices, thank you for helping to “raise student voice.”

And if you’ve never tried it, below you’ll find 10 excellent reasons to start. We invite you to add to the list, either by posting a comment or by writing to us at LNFeedback@nytimes.com.

10 Reasons to Send Student Work Out Into the World

We asked teachers whose classes have submitted to our contests and writing-prompt forums why they have students write for us and for other publications. Here are their answers.

1. Students get an “authentic audience.”

In our course we stress writing as a means of communication that is created based on audience and purpose. Many times, actually most times, a five-paragraph essay is not the formula. To regularly have students craft a response based on audience and purpose, and to do so in a global conversation, we require them to engage with your prompts — to read, think, write, rewrite and respond. They are not just writing for their peers or the teacher; instead, the stakes are a bit higher, and as a result, so is the level of engagement. Danvers High School appreciates this invaluable opportunity and the time and energy your staff commits to helping educate these global citizens. —John White, Massachusetts

Students mostly write for one audience during the school year: their teacher. By having my students submit to these contests, I give them new audiences to consider. My students not only consider how their words might be received by a writer at The New York Times, but also by the wider audience of readers who will see their work when it is published online. —Susan Carney, New Jersey

Students have the strongest BS meters — they know if something is fake and “just for school” or if it is authentic. Sending student writing out into the world is the ultimate step of authenticity — it not only shows students that their writing has weight in the real world, but it also gives them authentic audiences to write for! —Rebekah O’Dell, Virginia

2. They learn that their ideas and opinions are interesting and meaningful to others, and can be part of a larger, public conversation.

Getting published makes students feel like their feelings and beliefs are validated and it makes them more enthusiastic writers moving forward. —Sarah Gross, New Jersey

It makes them aware that their voice was heard and their words might resonate with someone. An A on a paper is nice, but winning a contest with their writing is a real source of pride. I think it tells them that teen voices matter too. —Susan Carney, New Jersey

I encourage them to send their work out into the world, to engage as global citizens, to value their writing and understand that they too can participate in the larger dialogue. —Michelle Oppenheimer, California

It has given them a voice to validate their concerns about the world. And it is very gratifying for all of us to see our students’ work published alongside students from Seattle, Wilmington and other cities. —Andrea (Andy) Goff, Rhode Island

Art is for sharing. I don’t believe it should be created in a vacuum, and showing work allows my students to add their voice to the mix. It allows for feedback and praise beyond my classroom (beyond me!), a shift in their perspective, and the pressure of exhibiting brings a seriousness to both the artist and their work. Beyond just assignments, I teach that art is their voice, and it is worth sharing with the world. —Shanna Coulter, Georgia

As a young person interested in global issues, I rarely find others my age with whom I can have meaningful conversations on the topics I am most interested in. The Learning Network’s many contests and programs allow me to interact with the news frequently with other teenagers. —Ethan Pintar, student from Texas

3. It shows them how the real world works: Rules must be followed, deadlines must be met.

I believe competition makes everyone better, regardless of what kind of competition. Competitions teach students how the world really works. Each contest has specific rules, and they have to be followed. If the rule isn’t followed, the entry is not considered. That’s the way it is. No negotiations. No extension. I know contests are a pain for the teacher. It’s extra work. You get all sorts of pushback from the students. However, the benefits from requiring them to enter competitions definitely outweigh the hassle. (Just remember to pick and choose what works best in your curriculum or program.) —Toni Mitchell, Texas

They learn to think beyond a grade and beyond the single-member audience of their teacher. This is how published writers think, so when we help students get their words into the world we are more closely approximating the moves of published writers. —Brett Vogelsinger, Pennsylvania

4. It makes them enthusiastic writers and artists who want to revise.

I find that when students are submitting their work to contests they are more thoughtful in their choices of topics, and are more willing to revise to appeal to their audience. It gives me a chance to speak about rhetorical choices as well. —Susan Carney, New Jersey

Prior to this summer, the only writing I did was for school assignments or Google searches. And if I did get round to it, I never re-read what I wrote. That’s why when, as the weeks went on, I surprised myself when I began double and triple checking my comments for mistakes, of which there were far more than expected! —Emma Weber, England, student participant in our Summer Reading Contest.

5. It transforms the dynamic in the classroom.

You take on the role of coach and cheerleader. Kids are submitting their work for an audience besides you as the teacher, and it motivates them to work on their writing more doggedly than a traditional assignment. They get competitive, which promotes a greater sense of urgency. The writing is just better. If a kid places or wins, it also changes how a kid sees him or herself. They become writers with a sense of confidence and purpose. —Kabby Hong, Wisconsin

The kids become engaged in the work at amazing levels and it fuels my own practice with a sense of purpose beyond the canon and myself. —Brian Melton, Illinois

6. It boosts self-esteem and makes them take themselves, their voices, their work and each other more seriously.

It is the look on their faces when something they have written lands on the NYT. Pure surprise and absolute delight. It warms my teacher’s heart. —Cynthia Honeycutt, South Carolina.

Our students were ecstatic to see their work being shared on NYTimes.com, such a national platform. This kind of recognition only validates their hard work. The authentic audience motivates students and drives them to ask real-world questions. They had to step up their game. —James Taylor Smith, Ohio

I am thrilled when students who are not self-identified “writers” or “artists” produce works of unexpected beauty. — Tom Peden, Texas

Students seem to feel “seen” — they feel legitimized as writers. When their work is acknowledged by a contest or publication — if they “win” — they get their first sense that their work is being considered on its own merits. They are skeptical about their parents’ (often effusive, unwavering) praise and they are scarred by their parents’ (often hypercritical) judgment. They also are so aware that they are, in their English teachers’ minds, associated with a grade. They think a “B-in-English-kid” will never be seen as the best poet. So when they are “judged” by someone who doesn’t already love them — or condemn them — unconditionally, they take that judgment a different kind of seriously. — Andrea Avery, Arizona

When students know their work is heard, or seen, beyond the walls of the classroom, engagement and confidence become abundant resources. I’ve seen young women too shy to speak out in class take on leadership roles within our organization, All Girls Considered, because they feel valued. I’ve seen girls whose hands trembled through their first interview come back and recruit new girls the following year because of the impact of these opportunities. — Jennifer Dean, Texas

7. It shows them they can do something real with what they have learned.

In many of my writing assignments, students are learning compositional, organizational and argumentative skills so that they can, as their final projects, write complaint letters to the companies that make products they want to see improved, for example, or write to their elected representatives to argue for a change to a law they don’t like, or to create advertising resources that get used by local businesses. For my junior honors class, we spend five weeks learning and honing research skills so that students can become experts in an issue of social justice that they feel affects them personally, so that they can take a concrete action, no matter how small, to try to make a change. Students, for this action, have attended (and organized) protests, filed Freedom of Information Act requests, started clubs, made videos that garner many hits on YouTube, and more.

I loved the chance to [participate in the Connections Contest], because I now had a genuine exam — not just “can you repeat information you learned,” but “can you do something with it, can you use it to support an argument about the contemporary world for a contemporary, real audience?” —David Nurenberg, Massachusetts

8. It reduces fear of rejection, and makes them more likely to keep trying.

I want them not to fear rejection, to read the published works of others, the award-winning stories, nonfiction, and poetry, and understand that their work might have been chosen, to see what might have improved their work, and to read the published work of their peers. Once my students have the experience of submitting work, whether or not it is then published or has received an award, they are invariably more engaged in reading the publications to which they have submitted — and more likely to send future work out. (On a somewhat different note, I want students to understand that there are worthy forums for sharing their thinking and writing. I want them to know that posting on social media is not the only or best vehicle for engaging in public discourse.) —Michelle Oppenheimer, California

9. It burnishes applications for college, scholarships and jobs.

Every recognition they earn sets them apart from the competition. —Toni Mitchell, Texas

10. It can change their lives.

The My Generation Contest changed a young woman’s life this year. This girl is in my class. She has so much going against her, but having her photo published in the NY Times (print as well as on the web) has changed the way she walks and interacts with people. —Toni Mitchell, Texas

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Do you help your students publish their work? How? Why? What has happened as a result? Let us know; we’d love to add new ideas to this post.